It's all about dopamine — a much-researched neurotransmitter
produced at the top of the brain stem which targets brain regions
that control reward and movement.

"When we receive some valuable piece of information, or perform
some act that promotes our health and survival, such as eating,
drinking, having sex or making large amounts of money, dopamine
is released along what are called the pleasure pathways of the
brain, providing us with a rewarding, even euphoric,
experience. In fact our brain seems to value the dopamine
more than the food or drink or sex itself," explains Coates.

There are dopamine-driven cravings too. Recreational drugs, for
instance, trick dopamine neurons into providing their rewards.
But they're not the only thing that makes you yearn for more.

Coates elaborates:

"What else besides drugs of abuse can create a dopamine-driven
craving? If dopamine fuels a desire for information and
unexpected reward, perhaps it also fills us with a burning
curiosity.

"Perhaps curiosity itself, the need to know, is a form of
addiction, making us race to the end of a good mystery
novel, or driving scientists to work day and night until they
discover insulin, say, or decode the structure of DNA, scientific
breakthrough being the ultimate hit of information.

"When the Theory of General Relativity dawned on Einstein, he
must have had the mother of all dopamine rushes."

Dopamine doesn't simply make us want more
information. It surges most when
we're performing a physical action that leads to an unexpected
reward, and this makes us want to repeat the actions
we took to get to that point, or figure out new ways to do
it. So, we're always looking for different "search patterns"
as we quest for information.